SARASOTA, Fla. – The jury has been seated and the state has presented opening statements in what investigators say is a first of its kind case in the area.

Luke Fleming, 41, is accused of the 1999 rape and brutal murder of Deborah Dalzell. Her body was found inside of her home in Sarasota after a co-worker became concerned and called authorities when she didn’t show up for work.

Investigators collected DNA that was left behind by the killer and entered it into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), but there was no match. The case later went cold.

In 2015, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office teamed up with Parabon NanoLabs. They submitted the DNA found at Dalzell’s home to forensic genealogists who were able to create a mockup of the suspect’s physical appearance.

Two years later, the re-analyzed the suspect’s DNA and obtained a genealogical report with a list of relatives. From there, investigators were able to build a family tree by using both volunteer DNA samples and those from genealogical databases.

In 2018, nearly 20 years after Dalzell’s death, detectives whittled down the list of possible suspects and arrested Fleming, charging him with murder.

Parabon NanoLabs has used DNA databases to crack a number of cold cases over the last two years. Very few of these cases have yet to play out in court.

More testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday. The state is not seeking the death penalty and the case is expected to wrap up by the end of the week.